by Sophia Gumbs

Wangari Maathai

In her 2004 acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, Professor Maathai commented that “protecting and restoring the environment contributes to peace; it is peace work. . .  . I always felt that our work was not simply about planting trees. It was about inspiring people to take charge of their environment, the system that governed them, their lives, and their future.” 

Professor Wangari Maathai (1940-2011) was a well-known enviromental activist, professor, author, and feminist from Nyeri, Kenya. She was a professor of Veterinary Anatomy and was the chair of the department at the University of Nairobi. She wrote several books, including The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience, Unbowed: A Memoir, The Challenge for Africa, and Replenishing the Earth: Spiritual Values for Healing Ourselves and the World. She was chair of the National Council of Women of Kenya (1981-1987), at which point the seed was planted– pun intended ;)– which would lead to the founding of her eco-feminist organization for community-based planting of trees to combat poverty and promote environmental health: the Green Belt Movement.  Read more